


Promise

by SpaceKase



Series: Femslash February 2021 [8]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:07:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29348649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceKase/pseuds/SpaceKase
Summary: The end of Summer is finally here, and Pacifica couldn't be more relieved.
Relationships: Pacifica Northwest/Mabel Pines
Series: Femslash February 2021 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2139186
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	Promise

**Author's Note:**

> Haha, sure didn't take long for me to fall behind, did it?

"UGH." Pacifica leaned back against the tree with a loud, long groan. "I'm so glad that Summer's almost over. This was the longest one ever!"

"Right? It feels like it went on for four years!" exclaimed Mabel with a huge grin. "It was awesome!"

Pacifica rolled her eyes and curved the impulse to make a crack about Mabel's braces, which were now painfully visible. "If you say so. Honestly, Hon, you're the only person I know who'd think Armageddon was fun." She'd always hated those What I Did for Summer Vacation essays going back to school; if it weren't for the fact that this town was now trying to keep all the weird stuff under wraps, she could have at least looked forward to her essay not being boring.

She'd actually have to write her own, this year, she realized; her family's money no longer belonged to them, which meant that she no longer had the status she'd used to use to get people to do things for her, nor could her parents throw money to make any problem she had go away.

A lot was going to change. Pacifica was smart enough to know that. And the odd thing was that she wasn't completely dreading it.

"Always look on the bright side of life! Otherwise what's the point?"

Pacifica folded her arms across her chest. "What's the bright side of losing our fortune?" She was being facetious (a word she'd learned from her personal tutor during a vocabulary session; she almost felt bad that he would surely be fired now, since her parents could no longer afford to pay him, and he was one of the few adults she felt like he actually liked her for her, not for her money), but there was a part of her that was genuinely curious. What take would the impossibly sunny Mabel Pines have on this situation?

"Well...now people have a chance to know the _real_ you!"

Pacifica almost smiled. Almost. "That's cute, Mabel. But I think you and I both know no one.. _.likes_...the real me." She wasn't trying to feel sorry for herself, honest. But didn't this deserve a little pity party? She was sure any other twelve-year-old girl in her pricy shoes wouldn't be happy in this situation, either.

"That's not true!" Mabel took her hand and gave her another big grin. " _I_ do!"

Pacifica turned her head, hoping her long hair (that was NOT DYED, thank you very much) would hide her suddenly warm cheeks. "Really? Even after how I treated you?" The other shoe had to drop. It just had to.

Mabel's bright smile faded just slightly. "I mean...Dipper's my twin brother. My best friend. You know we tell each other everything, right?"

Pacifica raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't know." She liked being an only child now, but when she'd been younger, she'd begged and pleaded her parents for a little brother or sister. She cringed as she remembered the temper tantrums she'd thrown, already so used to getting her way, not understanding why this was any different. Now that she was older, though, she was grateful: at least a smaller, younger, more vulnerable person wouldn't have the same parents she did. 

"He told me about your parents. The...bell thing?" Mabel shuddered. "That's really creepy, you know."

For once, Pacifica didn't have any comebacks. The truth was...she _didn't_ know. Not really. Did other parents really not train their children that way?

"Like you're a dog and not...their daughter. You know?"

"Right, okay; I get it." Pacifica didn't really want to break the contact their hands made, but she pulled her hand away, folding her arms back up against her chest.

"The point is, we get it now. Your parents are...not great people. But you still did the right thing at that party! I think the real you is a lot nicer than people give you credit for."

Pacifica shrugged. "Maybe." She knew she had a lot of soul searching to do; the truth was, she wasn't sure who the real Pacifica _was._ Her parents' money and name had been such a big part of her in the past, she wasn't sure who she was without it.

"Kind of a shame Summer's ending...maybe we could have gotten to be friends." Mabel sounded genuinely wistful. That was the word Pacifica had to use for Mabel; genuine.

Maybe Pacifica could be more genuine, too.

""We still have time; the world didn't end for long. We can be pen pals. Talk online and stuff. You know...once we save enough to buy a computer and you get home."

Mabel's eyes shined. "Of course! I'll write you, too, once you give me your new address!"

"Promise?" Pacifica hated sounding so vulnerable, but this was the first thing in days that she could look forward to.

Mabel slipped her hand back in hers and wrapped her pinky around hers. "Promise." 


End file.
